The Tropical zone in Cannington's glass houses

As the warmer weather appears to have deserted us again I've taken measures into my own hands and today I'm sharing pictures from our visit to the Tropical zone in Cannington's glass house.  It was grey and misty in London for most of today and while the warmer temperatures are forecast, I'd appreciate if they were here now.  I'm sure you would too!

The glass house was hot and humid, replicating the wet tropics of Indonesia and the Amazon Rainforest, I'm taking this post as a kind of acclimatising type of post in readiness and anticipation of less grey, less misty and more Spring-like weather.  

Even just writing this post I can feel the warmth as we stepped into this area, the temperatures aim to be between 26 and 28 degrees, tough hey?

Warm, but lush. 

Just look at all the greens, and the odd burst of colour too.

As we walked around the small but densely planted space, something unusual caught my eye above me.  It was green, but not the usual green of plants. Taking a closer look, I was right, but no less curious. 

I don't think I've ever seen anything like it, and had no idea what it was. We thought it might be pepper, but we'd seen that at RHS Wisley and it wasn't this colour. 

Isn't the colour vibrant? And isn't it fascinating?

Thankfully there was a sign telling us it was a "Strongylodon macrobotrys" or more helpfully a Jade Vine.  I can see how it gets its name!

It's also commonly known as an Emerald Vine or Turquoise Jade Vine and is a native of the tropical forests of the Philippines.  Stems can be up to 18 metres in length and it's a member of the pea and bean family.  Can you imagine if I grew one of these on the allotment...

No me neither, especially in this weather.

But there was more colour for us to see before we headed back to the more temperate areas.  The pink, red and green leaves above, which I'm sure I've photographed before, most likely at Wisley and a much welcomed hibiscus. 

Doesn't it look fresh and full of warmth.  So who knew that you could find such tropical-ness in a small part of Somerset which is well worth a visit if you're close by.  I'm sure you won't be disappointed, and the added bonus is that if it's a chilly day, like us, you can spend time discovering the peculiar, but wonderful Jade Vine.

Those pom poms in the Botanical Bedroom

In my Ideal Home Inspiration post last week I teased you with some pom poms, today I'm sharing the rest of the bedroom - a botanical bedroom room set, at that.  I wasn't surprised to see the botanical theme pop up in one of the roomsets, as it is one of the trends for 2018 and I've spoken about that here on the blog before, but I didn't expect it to be the bedroom.

Nor did I expect it to be quite so stylish.  I'll admit, that even as a plant lover, I'm not so sure about having so many in the bedroom, even though they're fake, but I did love the colours and the effect. 

A FOUR POSTER WITH A POM POM THROW

The muted greens, greys and neutrals were set off with the purple and lavender greys and the overall result for me was a calming and relaxing room. Even the wood of the four poster bed toned with the colour scheme, and what an elegant four poster.

The louvre doors of the wardrobe also work with the style of the room.  The top of my wardrobe would never look so stylish though, I've long since learnt to have floor to ceiling wardrobes so that I can hide things like suitcases and extra storage for the wardrobe I'm not wearing.

Looking across to the wardrobe gives a really good overview of the colours used, and don't they work well?

The other nod throughout the room set to the botanicals look are the black edged mirrors and terrariums, shown well on the dressing table.  I've only just spotted the shaped mirror leant against the wall and it's the little touches like this, that made the room sets feel like proper rooms for me.

But at times I think they can be totally impractical.  The photo below sums that up perfectly - the ivy climbing into bed with you and the very pretty, but less practical bedside table - is it just me?

The room sets often challenge and push my opinions, but at times they're pushed in a direction that I don't expect to like. Take the artwork below, if you'd described the picture then I might be wary. Clearly I can see it's some kind of skull, but it's prettier than you could ever describe it, don't you think?

Lighting is something we often take for granted, and this roomset had some interesting choices.  Of the bedside lights and ceiling lights, I much prefer the bedside lights - although I'm sure I'd walk into them regularly!

And remember that mustard armchair from the inspiration post? Well I hadn't forgotten to include it, but I thought I'd save it until now so you too can fall in love with the room all over again, just like me.  It's not the obvious choice to put with the muted colours, but I really like how its turned out, don't you?

Post Comment Love 6-8 April

Hello there, welcome back to our post-Easter #PoCoLo - while it was lovely to have a break, it's nice to be back isn't it?  And the sun's making an appearance too, way better than the colder and snowy weather that had been around in some parts of the UK last week.

It's finally starting to feel as if we may be done with winter, doesn't it?  Let's just hope spring is kind to us.  The weather has played all sorts of havoc with my gardening, or rather that should be my lack of gardening so far this year.  I'm behind where I usually am at this time of year - and often that's behind in any case - so this year I'm seriously contemplating buying some seedlings to help catch me up.  It's a more expensive way of growing edibles, but with some careful choosing it could mean we have produce to pick.  It also means I get to pore over a different section of the catalogues and websites, all in the name of research.

I've taken few photos since the weekend - the post I've linked this week is from a trip into town over Easter - so I've delved into my photo archives again, and this bookshelf in the National Trust's Mottisfont called out to me.  I think it's my subconscious telling me I need to read more books - and I do - and I've a pile of "to be reads" stacking up on my kindle, but not necessarily all of these!  

Blogger Showcase: Katelynn from Hampers and Hiccups

Katelynn is a new(ish) blogger who regular linkers may already be familiar with as she's also joined us a few times already.  Morgan is hosting all of Katelynn's answers on her blog this week, but before you go let me tell you that her perfect night in involves popcorn and her perfect night out includes getting up to no good if she's with her best friend.  I think we can all relate, can't we? 

If you're not connected with Katelynn on her social channels, then pop over to Pinterest and Twitter and say hello!

If you'd like to be featured in the Blogger Showcase spot, then please get in touch with either Morgan or I.  We've currently got a waiting list until the end of May, but we're always looking to add people to our list.

An InLinkz Link-up